Busy fayre kick-starts the season of giving

The event had to open 15 minutes early due to the queues outside the door and the car park at the leisure centre was full by 10.30am.

Organiser Roy Bisson was back for his 12th year and said there was a real mixture of good causes packing the hall and concourse.

‘It never surprises me, because it is always busy,’ he said. ‘People love a bargain and like to support charities. There are lots of home-baked goods – everything from a £25 Christmas cake to a 50p sausage roll – and there are also lots of raffles and entertainment.’

There were a variety of charities exhibiting and with the Round Table covering running costs, charities could keep all the money they raised.

‘For some they may raise as little as £60, while some may raise as much as £4,000,’ he said.

‘But they are all happy to be raising awareness about what they do.’

One of the small charities making a lot of noise was the Guernsey Deaf Children’s Society, which had a human fruit machine.

Chairwoman Leonie Burrows was one of the ‘cogs’ in the game and said it had been a very busy morning. She said the event was great for raising awareness about its work. The charity is a hub for families of deaf children to connect and it also organises events for deaf children, like visits to the police station.

Nearby the Friends of the Priaulx Library had a guess-the-weight-of-the-cake game, with a home-made Christmas cake made by Sue Sweet on offer as the prize.

Vice-president John Triggs said there was always a good list of jobs that needed to be done at the library, so it was important to fundraise for that work.

Sara Geall and her son Rafa, 6, were helping out on the Ernie’s Angels stall, but also made some time to do some shopping as well.

‘We just love it,’ she said.